


the greatest of them all

by airnomadenthusiast



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, background Suki/OC, background gaang, background kataang, background zukka, backstory on what the flip was up with Omashu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:28:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25752118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airnomadenthusiast/pseuds/airnomadenthusiast
Summary: “He told you he was the greatest Earthbender you were ever going to meet?”Aang's smile faded when he saw Bumi's expression. "Yeah, he did," he said sheepishly.“Of course I did,” Bumi said, suddenly defensive. “I’ve never met my equal.”Toph smirked. “Whatever you say, old man.”Or, the story of the rocky friendship between the greatest earthbenders of all time.
Relationships: Toph Beifong & Bumi
Comments: 44
Kudos: 174





	1. Problem-Solving

**Author's Note:**

> I set out to write Toph and Bumi dueling and instead I got a three chapter fic on found family, what about it? Also, post-canon isn't real.

Bumi wasn’t sure what to make of Toph. She was smaller than any master earthbender he’d ever met, and younger too. He saw how even though she was small, she was tougher than the rest of them combined. She reminded him of himself, just after his parents had died, walls up on the outside to hide how fragile he was on the inside. 

As king of Omashu, Bumi had to visit the Earth King every so often to pet Bosco (fun) and attend Kuei’s parties (useless), and he’d decided to see Aang and his friends while he was there. Bumi didn’t particularly care for Ba Sing Se, but he was glad to see Aang and Iroh again. And then, of course, there were the other children. All too young (for spirits’ sakes, the new Firelord was only seventeen years old). But it was clear to Bumi that while Toph held herself like she didn’t need anyone, she needed them. He could see how she occasionally leaned on Sokka or Zuko, or, less often, Katara. Aang wouldn’t tell him what exactly had happened to Toph’s parents, but Bumi could only assume the worst. The Fire Nation had wiped out so many of his own citizens, and in that loss, he saw Toph’s parents, leaving her to fend for herself in this new world. He wanted to get to know her, maybe even help her. 

Unfortunately, Toph didn't want the same. 

“Remind me why the old guys are hanging out with us again?”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “That’s my uncle, Toph.” 

“I’m not talking about Iroh, Sparky, we all love our uncle—” 

“ _Our_?”

“—but Aang’s old pal, emphasis on _old_ , needs to go.” 

Aang rolled his eyes. “Sorry, Toph, but Bumi came all this way to come see us. We’re not ditching my best friend because you don’t want to get to know someone new.” 

Sokka’s jaw dropped. “I thought I was your best friend!” 

Katara shook her head. “Sokka, please. If anybody’s his best friend, it’s me.” 

“Girlfriends don’t count!” 

Zuko smiled softly. “I suppose trying to capture you for the better part of a year disqualifies me from being your best friend, huh?” 

“You’re all my best friends!” Aang yelled. “Including Bumi. And we’re all going to hang out together.” 

Toph pouted and blew the hair out of her face, only for it to rest right back in her eyes. “How do you even know this bozo?” 

Katara sighed. “Toph, are you sure you want to call the king of Omashu a bozo?” 

"Katara, I am the height of bozo," Bumi said calmly. 

Sokka shrugged. "I can't disagree with that." 

Bumi laughed and turned back to Toph. “I met Aang when he was traveling through Omashu, over a hundred years ago.”

“We used to ride the mail system,” Aang said. 

“Aang, we rode the mail system last week. By the way, using airbending to make us go faster? Inspired.”

“Ugh, don’t encourage him,” Katara said. She turned back to Toph. “Aang and Bumi met again when we stopped in Omashu on our way to the North Pole.” 

“Yeah, instead of just telling Aang who he was like a normal person, he imprisoned me and Katara in creeping crystal and made Aang complete three deadly challenges,” Sokka said, scrunching up his nose. "Which was not cool, by the way!" 

Toph frowned. “Why didn’t you and Katara eat your way out? It’s just rock candy.”

“We didn’t know that at the time! And we were preoccupied with making sure Aang didn’t die.” 

“So let me get this straight: this guy imprisoned you and tried to kill Aang and we’re all just hanging out with him like nothing’s wrong?”

Sokka shrugged. “We hang out with Zuko.” 

Zuko reached out and squeezed Toph’s hand. “I promise you, I did way worse.”

Aang sipped on his tea. “Bumi was the first earthbender I ever dueled.” 

Toph laughed. “Wow, he must suck. It’s not that hard to defeat you in a fight, Twinkle Toes.” 

“I didn’t say I won. I said we dueled. Besides, I defeated you!” 

“You were airbending in an earthbending match, that’s cheating!” 

“I did defeat Aang, technically,” Bumi said. “You’re right, it wasn’t that hard. He had barely started mastering waterbending at the time, and I am a pretty excellent earthbender.”

“When we met him, Bumi said he was the greatest earthbender Aang was ever going to meet,” Sokka said. Toph laughed again. 

“ _He_ told _you_ that he was the greatest earthbender you were ever going to meet?” 

Aang’s smile faded when he saw Bumi’s expression. “Yeah, he did,” he said sheepishly. 

“Of course I did,” Bumi said, suddenly defensive. “I’ve never met my equal.” 

Toph smirked. “Whatever you say, old man.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Toph leaned against Zuko. “When Aang and I met, I was the undefeated pro-bending champion.”

“Fascinating. I earthbent my way to a throne in Omashu.” 

“I taught the Avatar the earthbending skills he needed to defeat the Fire Nation.” 

“Yes, and I’m very grateful that you could step in and teach Aang while I was incapacitated.” 

“You mean when you let the Fire Nation capture you?”

“It was all part of my strategy!” 

“Well, I’m grateful Aang didn’t have to learn earthbending from the second best.” There was a mischievous curl to her mouth that Bumi didn't like. 

He _was_ the greatest earthbender Aang had ever met. Right? 

Bumi narrowed his eyes. “I understand that I may seem young at heart to you—” 

“Please, if your heart were any older you’d have some serious health issues.” 

Bumi took a deep breath. “No one can deny that you have raw talent. But I have been bending since before you were a twinkle in anybody’s eye. I have seen kingdoms rise and fall—” 

“Yeah, I was there when Ozai was defeated too, buddy.” 

“What I’m trying to say is—”

“Oh please. You just don’t want to admit that I’m better than you and I’m only eleven.” 

At that Bumi stood. “I am the only earthbender to master the techniques of the Air Nomads and incorporate them into my bending.” 

“Yeah? I’m the only earthbender to _bend metal_ . And I used it to take out _an entire fleet of Fire Nation ships._ ”

“The generals were so displeased,” Zuko said, beaming with pride. 

“I drove an entire Fire Nation army out of my city in mere minutes.” He had to admit, maintaining neutral jing was difficult while Toph was trash-talking. 

“During the eclipse? When they couldn’t bend at all? Big whoop.” 

“And I helped take back Ba Sing Se during Sozin’s Comet. Everyone I fought then was at the height of their bending power.” 

“Uh huh, which is why it was really convenient that you had a firebender on your side for that fight, wasn’t it?” 

Bumi’s eye was twitching. Toph was in his face now, and she didn’t seem so little anymore. Aang cleared his throat. 

“Look, you’re both great earthbenders.” 

“Oh sure, sure,” Toph said. “I’m sure Wrinkles the Clown is a _great_ earthbender.” Her smile was maniacal, triumphant. “But I’m the greatest.” 

Bumi rolled his eyes. “You’re precocious. I have no doubt you will be the greatest earthbender alive, someday.” 

“Yeah? How about today?” She looked up at him. “Earthbending duel, sunset.” 

Aang stepped between them. “Hey, Toph, listen, maybe dueling isn't such a good idea. I mean, we did just get out of a war. You guys can maybe chat, talk it out—”

Bumi’s mouth curled into a grin. “You’re on. I hope you’re ready for a lesson.” 

“Oh, trust me, I like lessons. I taught Aang a whole bunch of them. When I was his earthbending master. So prepare to get schooled by the Avatar’s best teacher.” 

____________________________

“I can’t watch,” Aang said, pulling his knees up to his shoulders. 

“Oh come on,” Sokka said, one arm slung around Zuko’s shoulders while he took a dumpling off of Zuko’s plate. “You’ve seen earthbending duels before. Heck, you’ve dueled both of them before.” 

“This is different! I don’t want to watch two of my best friends fighting each other. What if Bumi hurts Toph? What if Toph hurts Bumi?” 

“Don’t worry, Aang, I’ll be here to heal any injuries that Bumi gets,” Katara said, rubbing Aang’s shoulders. 

“Or Toph.” 

Katara pursed her lips. “Yeah, sure. Or Toph.” 

“I don’t like this either,” Zuko said. “It reminds me too much of an Agni Kai.”

Sokka squeezed Zuko’s shoulders. “Everybody, relax. Nobody’s going to get hurt. Toph’s a pro-bender, Bumi fought a whole bunch of duels to become king of Omashu, and they both fought extremely skilled firebenders to help end the Hundred-Year War. They know what they’re doing. Now let’s all sit back, relax, and enjoy this completely safe and extremely entertaining show. Okay?”

Zuko nodded, but he still looked tense. Aang shut his eyes. “I just hope Kyoshi doesn’t try to join the match.”

Meanwhile, on the field, Bumi faced Toph, waiting for Iroh to declare the beginning of the match. 

“You know, back home, they called me the Blind Bandit.” 

Bumi smiled. “Did you come up with that yourself?” 

“It’s good, isn’t it?” 

“Not quite as good as King of Omashu, but it’s definitely got a nice ring to it.” 

“Okay, listen up, both of you,” said Iroh. “I want a fair fight. You will remain within the bounds of this playing field, and you will use only your earthbending. No hitting, kicking, scratching, or biting. Once one of you falls down for a count of ten, the match is over, and the person left standing will be victorious.” 

“And?” 

“And be named the greatest earthbender of all time. Thank you for reminding me, Toph. Now, start off by shaking hands.” 

Bumi and Toph shook hands and retreated to opposite ends of the field. 

“On your marks!”

Bumi got into position. Toph wiggled her eyebrows. 

“Get set!”

He could feel the power of the earth, strong and solid, ready to go as soon as he was. 

“Go!” 

Before Bumi could even move, he was knocked off balance by a shift in the rock that he realized could have only come from Toph. He tried to find his center again, but she kept interfering with his sense of balance, almost as if she was sensing his movements before he even made them. He made a wrong step into some mud, and it spun him around on his heel before he crashed down onto the ground. More mud rose up and solidified into rock, cuffing him to the ground. Before he could shake the handcuffs off or will them into sand, they grew heavy and cold on his wrists. 

Metalbending. She was metalbending. 

“1, 2 , 3—” 

She’d cuffed his wrists and ankles, but he could still move his face, so he used his chin to bring up a sheet of rock that sent her flying. She was light, lighter than any earthbender he’d ever fought, but this made her quick too. While still in the air, she brought up a chunk of rock and mud to ease her fall, and stood back up again with no problem. Meanwhile, he was still chained to the ground, unable to move. 

“4, 5, 6—” 

He weighed his options. If there were ice around, he’d consider trying to make theory reality, but unfortunately, it was a hot summer day in Ba Sing Se, and changing temperatures was not one of his talents. But there had to be something, something else he could do besides watching a little girl laugh at him—

Oh. _Oh._

Why hadn’t he thought of it before? 

Lavabending was temperamental on a good day (read: with full use of his limbs), and he wasn’t sure if he could use the lava to melt off his cuffs without hurting himself, but he had to try. After all, if he succeeded, he’d be the greatest earthbender of all time. That was powerful motivation. 

He bent a few drops over his cuffs, using the heat of the lava to weaken their hold on him. His wrists and ankles burned, literally, but he kept going. 

“7, 8—”

“BUMI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” 

The cuffs broke, and Bumi popped back up. “Thinking like a mad genius!” He bent the rock that Toph was standing on so that it broke, but Toph just stepped onto another column. 

“Oooohhh, lavabending, I’m so scared!” Toph yelled sarcastically. “Not like Avatar Roku did that over a hundred years ago! Your age is showing, King Bygone of the Has-Beens!” 

Bumi growled. “How’s this for hundred-year-old technique?” He stomped his foot, and the earth cracked from where he stood, opening up the mantle so that a pool of lava appeared around the column of rock that Toph was standing on. He moved his arm, and the rock started to rumble. 

Toph laughed, and to his surprise, jumped off of the rock and bent a hunk of it off, leaping on top of it and letting it carry her down the quaking column. As she approached the lava, it cooled into rock, and she slid across it with ease. And Bumi stood there, dumbfounded. 

Who _was_ this kid? 

She took advantage of his shock to take control of the dust particles around him so that they became her very own personal sandstorm. The particles clung to every part of him and pulled him into the ground. They flew into his eyes and into his mouth, and he coughed, trying to breathe, trying to get some oxygen into his body, but there was nothing, nothing. He was vaguely aware of Iroh counting, but he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t think—

“Knockout! Toph wins!” 

Immediately, the sandstorm subsided, leaving Bumi coughing and feeling like he might never stop. 

Aang rushed down to him. “Bumi! Bumi, are you okay? Toph, what were you thinking, _he’s a hundred and thirteen years old_ —” 

“It was a fair fight, I followed all the rules—” 

“You almost killed him!” 

“So what, I was supposed to go easy on him because he’s not as young as he used to be? This was a battle for the title of greatest earthbender of all time! I had to give it all I got!”

“Toph, your ego is not more important than Bumi’s life.” 

“He could have killed me too! He formed a pool of lava right where I was standing! I was defending myself!” 

“Defending yourself in a fight that _you_ started!”

Her nostrils flared. “Well, clearly, he’s more important to you than I am.” 

“No, wait, that’s not what I meant—” 

“Anyway, thanks for the fight, King Bygone. I was worried I was getting rusty dealing with Twinkle Toes all day. I’m going to go wash up.” 

“Wait, Toph—” 

“Let her go, Aang,” Bumi said, trying not to betray how weak he was feeling. 

Aang looked down at Bumi. “Are you okay?” 

Bumi rolled his eyes. “You worry too much.” He stood up, careful not to betray that his lungs were still adjusting. 

“Bumi, she hurt you.” 

Bumi coughed again. “It was a fair fight. She did everything she was supposed to do.”

“But—” 

“I’m not a weak old man, Aang.” He paused. “Old, yes, but weak, absolutely not. I can handle a fight, even with a bender who is more skilled than I am. I made mistakes. I underestimated her, and even worse, I overestimated myself.” He brushed himself off. “Well, I hope it’s not too late to teach an old polar bear dog some new tricks.” 

______________________________

Bumi found Toph later, sitting alone on a ledge. Her face was wet. 

“What do you want?” she said, not turning to face him. 

He sat down beside her. “I wanted to congratulate you.” He smiled at her, though he knew she couldn’t see it. “You really are the greatest earthbender of all time. And you’re only eleven.” He looked out at the night sky, saw the face of a young girl in the full moon. “You know, it took me a lifetime to master earthbending. I wasn’t a prodigy. Nobody expected much from me. I had to work twice as hard as the more gifted benders, read twice as much, think outside the box. But I did it.” He looked down. “You can see how it was… difficult for me to admit that I’d been shown up.” 

Toph fiddled with her hands. “It’s not like I was a prodigy, either. The badger moles took me in when I was just a kid. They taught me how to use earthbending to survive. When your choices are learning how to earthbend or dying, you pick up earthbending pretty quickly.”

Bumi took her in. Toph, the greatest earthbender of all time. And, a child. 

“You know, when I was young—older than you are now, but still young—I lost my parents. It was a Fire Nation raid, the first on Omashu. My parents were guards, and they were able to take down the invaders, but only… they sacrificed themselves to do it.” His eyes stung. “Our defenses were weak then. If they had help, if they weren’t fighting alone—anyway, I walked all the way to Ba Sing Se by myself and demanded an audience with the Earth King. When the Dai Li got in my way, I fought them all myself, and won independence for Omashu. And I didn’t need anybody’s help to do it, either.” 

“Okay, thanks for the ancient history lesson, what’s your point?”

“I know what it feels like, to think you don’t need anybody. To _know_ you don’t need anybody.” He took a deep breath. “To lose the people you thought you needed, and survive.”

Toph scrunched up her nose. “You know my parents are still alive, right?” 

Bumi’s eyes widened. “They are?” 

“Yeah,” Toph said, swinging her legs back and forth. “They’re Earth nobility. They wanted to keep me inside my whole life, because they didn’t think their frail little blind daughter could make it out in the big, bad world. And they didn’t care about the war. They didn’t give a monkey lemur’s spit what was happening in the world, as long as it was far away from them. If they had their money and power and if I was inside, nothing else mattered.” 

Bumi breathed in deeply. “That’s awful.” 

“Don’t patronize me.” 

“I meant, it’s awful that they would try to deprive the world of its greatest soldier in a war that’s lasted a hundred years. Who knows where we would be without you?” 

Toph smiled and elbowed him. “You’re not too bad yourself, old man.” 

“Oh, why thank you.”

They sat in silence for a moment. Bumi coughed again. “So, what are your plans then?” 

She frowned. “What do you mean, plans?” 

“Well, you’ve already mastered earthbending. What are you going to do now? Aang told me that after he leaves Ba Sing Se he’s going to travel the world trying to revitalize Air Nomad culture, and Katara is going back to become chief of the Southern Water Tribe, and Zuko obviously has to go back to being the Firelord soon, and Sokka’s just been appointed ambassador—” 

“All Snoozles is going to do is long-distance flirt with Sparky and we all know it.” 

Bumi started laughing, a high, wheezing, snorting laugh. After a few moments, Toph laughed too.

“So, what are your plans? Are you going to try to reconcile with your parents?” 

Toph pursed her lips, and, eventually, shook her head. “No. I think their opportunity to be my parents is over.” 

Bumi nodded slowly. “All right, then. Do you plan on traveling, like Aang?” 

Toph shook her head. “The more time I can spend on solid ground, the better.”

“Okay. Do you want to stay in Ba Sing Se?”

Toph thought about it for a moment. “I mean, I guess, if I had any sort of plan, that’s what it was. I could help Uncle Iroh with the tea shop until I figured out what to do next. At least I’d have a place to stay. But… I don’t know, Bumi. This place carries bad memories.” 

Bumi nodded. “For me, too.” 

Toph bent off a tiny piece of the rock of the ledge and fiddled with it in her hands. “I guess I don’t really have a plan then.” 

“Fantastic!” 

Toph whipped around to face him. “What do you mean, fantastic? I’ve got no idea what I want to do with my life and my best option is wandering around a city I hate, drinking tea and scamming people, and you think that’s fantastic?” 

Bumi laughed again. “No, no, listen: I’ve realized that the world is changing, and I need to change with it. And part of that is getting better at earthbending. I was wondering if you would come back to Omashu with me and be my teacher.”

Toph struggled to hide her smile, but Bumi could see her relief and excitement all over her face. “You want me to come back to Omashu?”

“I think you’ll find the palace comfortable. The Earth nobility who visit tend to like their quarters a great deal. We’ll put you in the Good Chamber.”

Toph frowned. “As opposed to the bad chamber?”

“As opposed to the Newly Refurbished Chamber. I was too busy being invaded and imprisoned to number them, but that will be my first priority when we get back.” 

“My chamber should be number 1, because I’m the number 1 earthbender.” 

Bumi grinned. “We will certainly take that reasoning into consideration.”

“And you have to treat me with respect. I will be your teacher, you know.” 

“Of course, Master Toph.”

And seeing how Toph beamed right before punching him, Bumi had a good feeling about how this arrangement was going to work out.


	2. Master Toph

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bumi starts his lessons, and he and Toph take a field trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh how is it that this chapter is shorter and yet it took longer?!?!? Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! Also, heads up, towards the end there's a brief discussion of death.

Bumi couldn’t remember the last time he’d relaxed like this. He and Flopsie were in a meadow of fragrant pink flowers, and Bumi was scratching his belly. Flopsie purred, and Bumi smiled. Life was good. He felt peaceful, lighthearted, happy, even—

_ CLANG! BANG! CLANG! _

“Look alive, King Bygone!” 

Bumi sat straight up in bed. “What? What’s happening? What’s the emergency?” 

Toph grinned at him, a pan in one hand and a spatula in the other. “I didn’t want training to interfere with your kingly duties, so I decided that we’re going to train really early in the morning. Starting today.” 

Bumi groaned. He looked outside his window. “Toph, it’s still dark outside.” 

“The servants told me that you normally take your breakfast at sunrise, and work from then until sundown if not later, so I figured I had better get you before work does. I even made you breakfast!” 

Bumi shuddered to think what an eleven year-old noble would make for breakfast, but said, “Thank you, Toph.” 

“Ah ah ah, that’s Master Toph to you, buddy. And you’re welcome. Do you need me to serve it to you in bed, old man?” 

“No, no, I can get it myself.” Spirits, it was early. Or late? He felt like he hadn’t slept at all. Leaving the warm comfort of his bed was a challenge. 

How exciting. It had been a long time since he’d faced a real challenge. 

He found out later that Toph’s idea of breakfast was just barely cooked quail-frog eggs with a side of burnt toast, which he ate vigorously and made every effort to make it seem as though it was the greatest meal he’d ever eaten. Then, he showed Toph to the training area. 

“Nice!” Toph said. “Good, spacious, but we can still throw each other into walls. I like it! Okay, I have to go get something, but when I get back, we’re going to start training. If you need to warm up or stretch out your old man joints before we start, this is the time to do it.” 

Bumi watched her leave and, reluctantly, started cracking his back. Just in case. As soon as he started doing it, though, he heard metal screeching from somewhere in the palace. 

“Master Toph! Are you all right?” 

His question was answered by a large hunk of metal hitting his back, followed by scraps of metal flying at his face, joining and congealing until he was completely encased in a metal box. 

“Okay, Bumi, lesson number one: metalbending! Bend yourself out of this.” 

_ She can’t be serious.  _

“Yup, I’m serious!” 

“I don’t know how!” Bumi yelled. “That’s the whole point, you’re supposed to teach me!” 

“It’s called problem-solving, clownface! Think about it: how do you get metal?”

Bumi thought about it for a moment. “It’s purified ore. It comes from the ground.” 

“Exactly. And everything that comes from the ground is a tool for earthbenders, right?” 

“Well…” 

“ _ Right?”  _

“That doesn’t mean I know how to use it!” he groaned. 

“Find your center! Find the earth!”

Bumi swore under his breath. 

“Think about the lava, Bumi!” 

And that, at least, was something he could use. The magma came from beneath the ground. It was rock. Rock heated beyond recognition maybe, but rock nonetheless. And maybe this metal wasn’t rock he recognized, maybe it was purified beyond recognition, but just as magma and lava were rock once, so was metal. 

He closed his eyes and concentrated. 

He could feel the bits of rock and ore in the box Toph had encased him in, but he couldn’t get control of them. There was too much else that he didn’t have control over. Too many factors. 

_ Come on, Bumi. Think outside the box.  _

Slowly, painstakingly, he bent the metal away from his face. 

“Bumi! You’re doing it!” 

And then he used his chin to pull some rock toward his container, bending the metal and busting him out, the same way he’d busted himself out on the day of the eclipse. He jumped out and looked at Toph, pleased with himself. 

Toph shook her head. “Again.” 

Bumi’s face fell. “What? I bent the metal.” 

“You bent the metal just enough so that you could use regular earth to bust yourself out. That’s not enough. You can’t be dependent on the presence of earth to get yourself out.” She frowned at him. “How do you earthbend?” 

Bumi shrugged. “I don’t know. I see the earth, and I figure out a way to use it to my advantage.” 

“See, that’s your problem. You’re seeing with your eyes.” She tore off a piece of her dress and used it to cover his eyes. “Okay, new plan. Since you clearly need to go back to the basics, you’re going to start seeing with your earthbending. Make it one of your senses, make it something you can’t live without. I’m going to send a huge rock your way, and I’m not going to tell you when I do it or how close it is to you. You’re going to have to feel it with your earthbending.” 

Bumi shifted into stance. He could do this. He could absolutely do this. 

He concentrated. 

There was something coming. He could feel it. And was it coming from… oh spirits, it was coming from behind. He bent it away. 

“Good!” he heard Toph say. “You’re a lot better at this than Aang was. Can you feel where I am?” 

He took a deep breath. Maybe if she was heavier… but no, he felt a child’s footsteps, moving slowly around the training room. He could feel it with his own feet. He moved his left foot and—

“Ahh!”

He untied the blindfold to see Toph on the ground, and he ran over to her. 

“Toph? Toph, are you all right?” 

Toph smiled, rubbing her shoulder. “That’s Master Toph to you, buddy.” 

He rolled his eyes. “Are you all right,  _ Master _ Toph?” 

“Yeah.” She popped back up. “Trust me, I faced way worse than that in the ring.” She frowned at him. “Put your blindfold back on. We’re doing it again, this time with metal.” 

______________________________

The next few weeks were more of the same. Every day, Toph would wake him early with her pot and spatula, and they would train for hours. It was a new thing every day, but one thing he could always count on was being encased in a metal box at some point during their training. He got better at metalbending generally, but the box always stumped him. He couldn’t bend more than enough to uncover his face before turning back to what he knew, the rocks. 

After a few weeks, Toph threw her hands up in frustration. “Okay, Bumi, listen. I know you can metalbend. You’ve done it! So what’s your hangup with the box exercise?” 

Bumi flashed back to those weeks, chained in the city he’d worked so hard to save—

“Oh,” Toph said after a moment. “It’s because it reminds you of being trapped by the Fire Nation, isn’t it?” 

He frowned. “How did you know?” 

“Every time we do it, your heart rate goes up a lot. Like, a  _ lot.  _ Like when I have nightmares.” 

His eyes grew wide. “You have nightmares?” 

She shrugged. “Why do you think we have lessons in the middle of the night?” She sat down beside him. “I was using the box exercise because that’s how I figured it out. Two earthbenders my parents hired to kidnap me and take me back to them caged me in a metal box, and I got myself out. I still think about that cage sometimes. But it makes me feel better, to know that I got myself out, and I can do it again, no matter how much earth is around. I guess it’s different for you?”

Bumi nodded. “I can’t get myself out.” 

Toph sighed. “Okay. Let’s try something else then. Can you clear your schedule for tomorrow?”

Bumi nodded. “Yes,” he said. 

“Great. We leave at dawn.” 

“Where are we going?” 

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.” 

Bumi laughed. “All right, then. I’m excited to see what you have in store for me, Master Toph.”

She grinned. “I’m excited for you to see, Pupil Bumi. That’s all for training today. ” 

She got up and started walking towards chamber number 1, but Bumi put a hand on her shoulder. “Toph, wait.” 

She turned around. “Yeah?” 

A master. And still, a child. 

“When I had nightmares as a kid, my parents used to let me sleep in the bed with them. It helped, not to be alone.” 

Toph stood still for a moment. “Have a good day, Bumi. I’m going to wander around the city for a while.”

Bumi smiled at her. “Have fun.” 

That night, nobody woke him up with a pot and spatula. Instead, there was a soft knock on his door. 

“Bumi? I, um,” she swallowed. “I had a nightmare.” 

Bumi waved her to the bed without a thought. When they both awoke at dawn for their journey, the bags under Toph’s eyes had all but disappeared. 

_________________________________

“So, King Bygone, I bet you’re wondering why we didn’t charter your normal ship for this journey.” 

He  _ had  _ been wondering that. He rather liked his normal ship. Also, where could they possibly be going on a ship? He knew Toph hated the water, and he knew that she knew he got horribly seasick. She’d forced him to go belowdecks, where his seasickness was the worst 

“This is one of Sokka’s brand-new designs,” Toph said. “Made entirely out of metal. And it’s steam-powered, not coal-powered. Snoozles says it’s more efficient or something boring like that. And we’re really far out to sea, where nobody can find us. Do you know what that means?”

Bumi shrugged. “Is this an assassination attempt?” 

Toph laughed. “No, silly. It means you’re  _ trapped _ .”

“I’m afraid I’m still not following.” 

“I’m going to leave this room, and I’m going to lock this door behind me. The only way you can get to the upper deck of the ship is through metalbending. I believe in you!” 

She grinned impishly and locked the door behind her. Bumi heard her footsteps as she got further away from where he was being held. 

_ It’s fine. It’s fine.  _

His head hurt. His stomach hurt. 

_ I believe in you.  _

Bumi took a deep breath. One thing at a time. He’d focus on the door first. He could wrench it apart, or he could do something smaller. Undo the lock. He closed his eyes and tried to use the seismic sense that Toph had been teaching him. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and he heard the lock click. The door swung open, and he squealed in delight, and broke into a run down the hall. He repeated the trick again at the locked door at the end of the hall, and beyond that door he found stairs, honest to goodness stairs, which he eagerly climbed up. He was still belowdecks, but he could sense fresh air just above him, just above—

Right above him, there was a locked hatch. Compared to this lock, the past two had been relatively easy. It would take him hours to patiently undo each of its little components. 

He remembered his duel with Toph, where she had made the ground cool beneath her. She hadn’t taught him temperature control, but clearly it was possible for her. He focused on the metal, not heating it too much, just enough to loosen it, to break the bonds that held it together just a little, put stress on it with heat and the force of his bending—

The lock snapped apart, and the metal door of the hatch shrieked as it moved violently to the left. He could smell salt, fresh air—spirits, was that land?

He lifted himself onto the deck to find Toph at the helm, sipping a mango smoothie that one of the crew had prepared for her. 

“Oh, you’re just in time! We’re almost there!” 

He joined her at the helm, and she elbowed him in the ribs. 

“Ow! What was that for?” 

She smiled. “Good job, old man. I knew you could do it.” 

He smiled at her and rubbed her head. Out where they were approaching, there was a giant statue of Avatar Kyoshi, brightly painted. “We’re going to Kyoshi Island?” 

“Yup.”

“Oh.” He squinted. “Why?” 

“You and I,” Toph said, sipping on her smoothie, “are going to become Kyoshi Warriors.” 

_________________________________

“Not that I’m not thrilled to see you, Toph, but don’t you think he’s a little old to be fighting? Plus, we don’t allow boys.” 

This wasn’t Bumi’s first time meeting Suki, but it was his first time seeing her in all her glory. He’d never tell Aang this, but Kyoshi had always been his favorite Avatar, and he was happy to see that her legacy lived on in this island, and that Suki carried her spirit so well. 

“Aw, come on, Bumi’s a spring chicken!” Toph said. “Besides, you let Sokka join.” 

“That was different!”

“Why, ‘cause you wanted to mack on him?”

Another Kyoshi Warrior in the back burst into laughter. Suki sighed. 

“Toph, Bumi, that class clown over there is my girlfriend, Hana.”

Hana’s makeup was only half done, but she didn’t seem to care. She had dark hair, a bright smile, and a mischievous glint in her dark brown eyes. “Nice to meet you guys.” She turned to Suki. “Come on, Suki, please let the old man join. It would be so funny.” 

“Hana, we’re not letting an old man join the Kyoshi Warriors just because you think it would be funny!”

“Oh, come on, Suki, lighten up a little. The little girl said he’s a spring chicken!” 

“Name’s Toph,” she said tersely, blowing the hair out of her face and spitting on the ground. “Suki, I’ll have you know that Bumi just metalbent his way through an entire ship, and we’ve been training every day, and also the dude helped take back Ba Sing Se during Sozin’s Comet! When every bender he fought was at the height of their power!” 

Bumi blushed. “It did help that we had a firebender on our side.” 

Suki looked up at the sky. “Kyoshi’s spirit is going to punish me for this.” She sighed. “Okay, fine, both of you can partake of our traditions for the day. But you know what that means.  _ All  _ of our traditions. Makeup included, Toph.” 

“Ugh, fine, but I’m not letting you do it for me.”

Suki smirked. “I’m sorry, what was that? ‘Thank you, Suki, for breaking tradition on such short notice and offering your time to teach me and my friend the traditions of the Kyoshi Warriors?’ Oh, you’re so welcome, Toph. Glad you could pop by.” 

Toph crossed her arms, but Bumi put a hand on her shoulder. “She’s right,” he said. “Thank you so much, Suki, for allowing us to learn from you.” He bowed to her.

“Aww, you’re such a goody-goody, Bumi.” 

Suki laughed. “Thanks, Bumi. Let’s get you both in uniform. Speaking of—” she pulled some makeup out of her sleeve and held Hana’s face gently in her hands. “Let me finish this for you.” 

Hana smiled dreamily. “Okay.” 

Bumi looked at Toph. “I guess we’re on our own, huh?” 

Toph shrugged. “Fine by me.”

Half an hour later, Bumi was actually quite liking his Kyoshi uniform. There was a surprising amount of mobility in that dress, and a bunch of secret pockets for various sorts of weapons. His makeup was not quite as cleanly applied as Suki’s, but it was bold and expressive. He might continue dressing like this when he got back to Omashu. 

Toph wasn’t quite as happy. “This makeup is so thick.” 

Bumi smiled. “That’s because you applied half the bottle.” 

“Makeup is hard.” 

“It would be easier if you let someone help you.”

Toph shook her head. “Suki would just use it as an opportunity to baby me.” 

Bumi shook his head. “I don’t think Suki’s capable of babying anyone.” 

“Are you ready?” Suki asked. She looked over at Bumi. “Oh, spirits, you did an amazing job! It takes most of my warriors weeks to get that good.” 

“Yeah, yeah, Bumi’s awesome, let’s get to the fighting, huh?” 

Suki smiled. “Your makeup looks wonderful too, Toph.” 

Bumi absolutely did not miss the smile that stretched across Toph’s face, much as she tried to stuff it down. “Can we learn fan-throwing, Suki?” 

Suki considered for a moment. “Normally we’d start you out with hand to hand…”

“I think Bumi and I are pretty good at that already,” Toph said. “I want him to get used to using smaller projectiles.” 

Suki nodded. “Right. Okay, fans it is. Hana, do you want to help me, since you vouched for them?”

Hana sulked. “It’s not as funny when he’s better at makeup than I am.” 

“Well, maybe that’ll teach you a lesson about assumptions, won’t it? Come on, you’re the best fan-thrower on the island. I need you.”

At that, Hana perked up. “Well, all right then.” She took out her fan. “Remember, the fan is an extension of your body. Both of you are earthbenders, right? How do you see earth?”

“Well, I don’t really see it—” Toph said. Hana rolled her eyes. 

“Is earth an extension of your body?” 

Toph nodded. “Yeah.”

“What about you, Bumi? Is earth an extension of your body?”

Bumi thought about it for a moment. For years and years of his life, he would have said no. Earth was a tool. It was a tool he depended on, a tool he couldn’t live without, a tool that shaped the way he viewed the world, but it was, at the end of the day, a tool. A skill that he used to get him where he needed to go. But these past few weeks with Toph, his perspective had changed. Using seismic sense emphasized just how much the earth was alive, how symbiotic their relationship was. He had come from earth, he had used earth to survive, and someday, he would join the earth again. He was part of earth, and he realized, earth was part of him. 

“Yes.” 

Hana nodded. “Okay. So just like the earth is an extension of your body, so is your fan. Treat this fan like you treat rock. You have to care for it, breathe with it, use it as a part of you. Okay?” 

Bumi nodded. “Okay.” 

They spent the rest of the day practicing with Hana and Suki. For all her jokes, Hana was a remarkable teacher, and by the end of the day, Bumi felt a connection to his fan as strong as any he’d experienced with a real person. He and Toph weren’t experts or prodigies by any stretch, but by sunset, each of them could hit the target. 

“I think that’s enough training for today,” Suki said finally. “Let’s show you both a true Kyoshi dinner.”

Over their dinner, Toph asked him. “Did you have a good day?” 

He nodded. “One of the best days I can remember,” he said. “If I could do my whole life over, I’d become a Kyoshi warrior, I think.” 

“What about Omashu?” 

He smiled. “I’d liberate Omashu from the Earth Kingdom with the help of my fellow Kyoshi warriors, and I’d find someone I trusted to be king, and I’d go back for holidays.”

Even as he said it, he knew it wasn’t true. Omashu needed him. And it was true what everyone said: he was old. A good amount of the people he’d grown up with were dead, some of them from a senseless war, some of them just from old age. 

He couldn’t avoid it forever. Someday, his body would join the earth again. And what would happen to Omashu? 

“Why are we here, Toph?” he asked. 

Toph had just bitten into a huge leg of salmon-chicken, but she seemed to have no qualms about speaking with her mouth full. “I’mthinkshingophushingprozhectiles—”

“What?”

She chewed for a moment, and then swallowed. “You know how most of earthbending is standing your ground and using big, heavy rocks to defeat your enemies?”

Bumi nodded. He was quite a fan of using big, heavy rocks to defeat his enemies. “But it’s more than that. It’s pulling them out at the right time, at the right angle—” 

“I know, I know. The Blind Bandit wasn’t a champion for nothing.” 

“Aang defeated you.”

“Aang—whatever, it doesn’t matter. Listen, I love my big rocks, but if using seismic sense has taught me anything, it’s that people can be really thrown off by something small. I mean, in our fight, I defeated you with dust. Not many earthbenders use a move like that. I know I’ve been making you call me Master Toph and I’m still holding you to that, but the two of us are the most powerful, most intelligent earthbenders alive. Heck, we’re probably the most powerful earthbenders ever. We can modernize the field, Bumi. Incorporate your Air Nomad techniques, incorporate fanbending—” 

“Fanbending?”

“Fanbending. And using earth as smaller projectiles in general. Being looser, lighter on your feet, thinking outside the box. And obviously, using metalbending.” 

Bumi’s face broke into a wide grin. “You want me to help you push earthbending forward?” 

Toph punched his arm. “I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fanbending.
> 
> Fun fact: When I was planning out this fic, I wasn't expecting to have a Kyoshi warriors scene at all. After I posted the first chapter, I realized that I'd forgotten to include Suki in the Gaang, which made me so sad because I love Suki with my whole heart and soul. So I knew I needed to figure out a way to get her in the fic, and at like two in the morning, I sat up straight in bed and was like "TOPH AND BUMI SHOULD BE KYOSHI WARRIORS." And that's how a good 2/3 of this chapter was born.


	3. The Queen of Omashu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years pass. Bumi starts thinking about the future. Toph starts thinking about the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ding, dong, the canon's dead! 
> 
> Just an FYI, this chapter does contain non-graphic discussions of death. If you would like to skip it, I put an asterisk (*) where it starts and where it ends.

Years passed. Toph had never pictured herself staying in Omashu for years (or any Earth Kingdom city, for that matter.) At the beginning of her stay, she wasn’t sure what to do with herself. But Omashu made that choice for her. The people were kind to her without being patronizing. She made friends with the old ladies selling dumplings and rice cakes, and with the little boys just starting to bend for the first time, and with the crotchety old men who always cracked a smile when they saw her. The soldiers were a little confused by her, but they were confused by Bumi too, so she took it as a compliment. 

Every day, in the middle of the night, she and Bumi worked on their forms, which included developing small projectiles made of earth and metal and bending them back and forth to create a lighter style, as well as alternating bending their lava the way firebenders bent fire and bending it the way waterbenders bent water. They worked well as a team. Both of them were ideas people. Bumi would do the research, Toph would begin the experimentation, and they would work together until they came up with something incredible. Word spread throughout the city of their earthbending advancements, and Bumi asked her, “So, do we take this public?” 

Toph laughed. “What kind of question is that? Of course we do! How is anybody going to know that we’re the greatest unless we tell them?” 

So in addition to their middle of the night training/R&D sessions, they opened up earthbending classes for everyone in Omashu. It was here that Toph got to know another side of the city. She had never envisioned her teaching days going much further than teaching the Avatar how to earthbend, but she found herself correcting housewives’ stances, compelling little girls to put more power into their bending, even teaching a blind boy how to use seismic sense to get around. Her teaching style never got gentler, but her students always excelled, and they loved her. She loved them too. 

Speaking of the Avatar—

“Aang, what are you doing here?” she yelled, running towards him to give him a hug. 

Aang slid off of Appa and crushed her in a giant hug. “Heard you were giving lessons again. You know my earthbending always needs some work.” 

“Aang!” Bumi said. “It’s good to see you!”

“You too, Bumi. Katara says hello.” 

Toph frowned. “Why didn’t she come with you?” 

Aang scratched the back of his neck. His ears were turning red. “She was super busy. You know, chief stuff, wedding planning, all that.” 

“Twinkle Toes, you didn’t!” 

Aang grinned sheepishly. “It was time.” 

Toph punched him in the arm. “I’m so happy for you!” She was getting better at expressing her emotions. 

“Congratulations!” Bumi said. “The Avatar and the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. What a match.” 

“Thanks, Bumi. Sokka made a painting of her betrothal necklace so you guys could see it.” He pulled a piece of paper.

“Oh, wow, thanks, Twinkle Toes. I can really see everything that’s going on. It’s like I was there.” 

“Here, I’ll describe it for you,” Bumi said. “It’s… a necklace?” 

“Yeah, Sokka’s been practicing.” 

“With Appa drawn on it?”

“That’s supposed to be the iceberg where we met.” 

Bumi squinted, brought the paper up close to his face, and finally conceded, “I suppose icebergs come in a variety of forms.” 

“In Sokka’s defense, he was a little distracted. The Fire Nation has some really convoluted rules for marriage proposals, and he’s spent the last few weeks studying up.” 

“Wait, who is Sokka proposing to in the Fire Nation?” Bumi asked. Toph laughed. 

“Bumi, don’t tell me you don’t know! They’re so obvious about it.” 

Bumi grinned impishly. “What, Sokka and Firelord Zuko? I thought they were just really good friends.”

“You’ve got a weird sense of humor, Bumi,” Aang said, laughing. “And meanwhile, Zuko’s been asking me and Katara about Water Tribe proposals.Knowing them, they’re going to propose to each other on the same day, at the same time, and then get mad at each other for stealing their thunder.” 

“Oh that’ll be hilarious! Please tell me when they do it so I can go visit.” 

The Omashu earthbending students were really excited to have the Avatar studying with them, and Aang was excited to study with them. That is, until Toph refused to put him with the advanced students. 

“You’re a monk, aren’t you supposed to be humble?”

“I’m the Avatar! I mastered the four elements!” 

“Yeah, and then Bumi and I created whole new dimensions of earthbending. You don’t even know how to metalbend. Which, coincidentally, is what the intermediate students are learning today.” 

“How is metalbending not advanced?” 

“The advanced students are learning how to combine lavabending and projectile-boxing with their metalbending,” Bumi said. Aang rolled his eyes. 

“You’re not going to speak up for me, Bumi? I’ve been your best friend for a hundred and ten years!”

“I’m sorry, I thought Sokka was your best friend?” Bumi said innocently. 

“Oh no, that’s Katara,” Toph said sweetly. 

“Don’t be ridiculous, fiancees don’t count,” Bumi said. 

“For the last time, you’re all my best friends!” Aang yelled. A brief silence followed that, although Toph could swear she heard one of the nine year-olds whisper, “I’m Avatar Aang’s best friend!” 

“Look, Twinkle Toes, if the intermediate class is too hard for you, I can always put you with the beginners. Everybody needs to brush up on their basics from time to time. There’s no shame in that.” 

Aang sighed. “Fine, I’ll study with the intermediate group.”

Class ended up going off the rails that day, and Toph just decided to call it when Aang pulled out his air scooter. But Bumi took it as an opportunity. 

“Now, while none of you are airbenders, you can incorporate airbending technique into your earthbending, just like the Avatar. And when you reach the advanced level and start lavabending, you can incorporate the techniques of firebenders and waterbenders into how you use lavabending. Let Aang serve as an inspiration for what all of you can accomplish one day if you practice balance.”

Toph smiled. “And let him serve as a warning for what can happen if you don’t practice discipline.” The whole class (besides Aang) laughed at that. 

“I’m just kidding,” Toph told him later. “Thank you for coming.” 

Aang cracked his back. “Thank you for teaching.” He stretched. “Guess you didn’t think that you’d still be teaching after we defeated Ozai, did you, Master Toph?”

Toph shook her head. “I didn’t know what I’d be doing after we defeated Ozai.”

Aang nudged her shoulder. “I’m glad that you and Bumi found each other. It seems like you’re really helping each other out.”

Toph smiled. “Yeah,” she said. “He’s everything my parents aren’t. It’s nice, having an adult around who treats you like a person.”

Aang smiled at her. “You know, you’re an adult now. I saw a bunch of kids in there who looked like they needed more than just earthbending practice.” 

Toph saw them too. She saw them every week. Rich kids like she had been, laughing and then being surprised at the sounds that came out of her mouth. And kids from near the city walls, who hungrily took from the snacks she and Bumi offered before and after every practice. 

“I’d like to take them in someday, I think,” Toph said slowly. “Like Bumi took me in.”

She expected Aang to tease her, but instead he gave her a hug. “I think that’s a really good idea.”

______________________________

Later, Toph was sitting in the throne room with Bumi, playing pai sho. Every game of pai sho with him was different. Iroh always ended up using the White Lotus tile, but Bumi changed up his strategy with every game. 

“So, Aang and Katara are getting married, huh?” 

Toph nodded. “I guess so.” 

Bumi moved one of his tiles. “I used to think I wanted that. Or rather, my advisors constantly told me that that was something I should want. They worry that there’s no heir apparent to the throne.” 

Toph moved one of her tiles. “Who says a monarchy needs an heir? You can rule Omashu forever.”

*

Bumi smiled. “But I can’t.” Toph could feel him looking at her. “Like you always say, I’m old. And most of the time, old people die.”

Toph shook her head. “You’ve still got it, old man. You don’t need to worry about dying.” 

“Toph, I’m trying to have a serious conversation.” 

“Well, it’s not a conversation I want to have!”

*

Bumi pulled out the White Lotus tile, which made Toph even more nervous. Bumi was talking about dying and he was playing pai sho like an old person? 

“Do you like Omashu?” Bumi asked. 

Toph frowned. “Of course I do.” 

“Do you love Omashu?” 

To her surprise, Toph answered without hesitation. “Yes.” 

“Would you give your life to save Omashu? To protect her people?” 

“Bumi, why are you asking me this?” 

“Answer the question, Toph.” 

Again, without hesitation. “Of course I would.”

Bumi took a deep breath. “Toph, I want to name you my heir.”

Toph’s jaw dropped. “You want to _what_?”

She thought of all the people she knew, how much they depended on Bumi, how much they loved him. She thought of all the problems he hadn’t been able to solve. The kids. If he couldn’t fix it—if he was talking about dying—what was she supposed to do? 

“The ruler of Omashu needs to be someone smart, calculating, someone who would do anything to keep the city alive. Someone great. And that’s who you are. Besides, I already think of you as my daughter. I see no reason not to make it official.” 

Toph wanted to ask a million questions, but the first thing that tumbled out of her mouth was “Thank you, Dad.”

She could feel Bumi’s eyes watering. “You know, before I name you my heir, you have to prove yourself.” 

Toph frowned. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, when I wanted the throne, I beat the entire Dai Li in a fight. So I figure, if you want to be my heir, you have to beat me in a fight.” 

And that, that was something Toph could handle. Ruling was terrifying, but fighting? That was what she knew. She grinned, openmouthed and all teeth showing. “So you still have some fight in you, huh?”

“Well, I’m not dead yet,” he said, sliding another tile into place. 

“You know the last time we fought, I wiped the floor with you.” 

“Well, since then, I’ve found myself quite a marvelous teacher. I’m a much better earthbender now than I was then.”

Toph nodded. “Yeah, you’re the greatest I’ve ever met. Besides myself, I mean.”

Bumi smiled. “Likewise.” 

_________________________________

A crowd gathered to see their king fight their newest resident, his daughter, their teacher. Perhaps, their future queen. 

Bumi cracked his back. Toph stood across from him, waiting. 

“You ready for this, old man?” 

He stared back at her, equally sure. “This will be an easy fight.” 

Toph felt no rise in his heartbeat, no shift in his step. He was sure of that statement. And maybe during their first fight, that would have been cause for spite, an invitation to dig her heels in and knock the spit out of him from where she stood. But now, it just made her smile. She knew that he knew now how formidable she was, understood exactly who he was up against, in a way that he hadn’t the first time. And still, he was confident enough to believe he could beat his old master. She was proud of him. 

She was going to prove him wrong, but she was still proud of him. 

Aang had graciously agreed to referee their duel, which was an improvement from him cowering in the stands all those years ago. “Okay, Bumi, Toph, I want a fair fight. No hitting, kicking, scratching, or biting. Remain in the bounds of the training area. If you’re down for ten seconds, you lose.” 

“And thus lose the title of heir of Omashu,” Bumi said. 

“Yes, Bumi, thank you for reminding me.” Aang frowned. “Bumi, what happens if Toph loses?” 

Bumi tugged on his ear and cocked his head to the side. “Hm. You know, I’m not sure.”

Aang nodded, and Toph could feel his apprehension, but to his credit, he took it in stride. “All right, just making sure that there won’t be any huge geopolitical consequences as a result of this fight. You know, Avatar stuff. Okay, on your marks!” 

Toph moved into stance. Bumi merely smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. 

“Get set!”

She could feel the earth, every inch of stone in this palace ready to come to her aid the second Aang said—

“Go!” 

Bumi moved his foot, and Toph swiveled around in quicksand until landing flat on her back. He made her some metal handcuffs, but she slid out of them easily. She rose up on a giant column of earth and started throwing pieces of it down at him, projectile-style, as if they were an extension of her arm. While she was doing that, she focused on bringing all traces of ore in her column together, and pinned him to the wall with metal. Before he could even think about it, she had him flat on the ground, trapped in a box. 

“1, 2, 3—” 

Bumi broke out of the metal box easily. “You really thought you could hold me with that?” he laughed, before creating a pool of lava at her feet. She merely laughed. 

“Shouldn’t have taught me all those waterbending tricks!” She took a breath and focused on letting her energy flow from one part of her body to another with ease. She’d never tried to make one of those octopus forms that Katara always used, but hey, never a better time to invent a new earthbending move than in a historic fight that would determine the history of a nation, right?

The audience oohed and ahed, and Toph knew she had it. But Bumi just laughed. 

“Shouldn’t have taught me temperature control!” And in a second, Toph’s really awesome lava octopus had phased into igneous rock. She sighed heavily. 

“You’re no fun!” She bent one of the tentacles up to where she was standing and glided down the length of her column. The rock tentacle slammed down a little too quickly and wrapped around her, squeezing her tight. She sighed. “This is what I get for fighting someone so below my level!” 

And in one swift motion, she bent herself out of the tentacle’s grasp, underground, and emerged out of the ground in a way that would make the badger moles proud. She covered Bumi in mud, but he just kept laughing at her, using his airbending technique to shake it all off. Never mind that’s what she wanted. 

While she had him distracted, she created a moat of lava around where they stood. Barely cooled igneous rock grabbed his ankles while he was still dealing with the mud, taking him down and putting him flat on his back. A mixture of iron ore and mud wrapped around his wrists and his belly, and crystal around his shoulders. With every passing moment, Toph made the trap more intricate, harder to break, but she knew it wouldn’t hold him forever. 

“1, 2, 3, 4—” 

Bumi wriggled and gasped, and Toph frowned. He could escape this. She knew he could escape this. 

“5, 6, 7, 8—” 

And Bumi stopped struggling. She could feel him grinning. Toph’s jaw dropped. 

“You son of a—!”

“9, 10! Toph wins!” 

“What?” she yelled, whirling around to face Aang. 

The portions of the crowd that weren’t already on their feet jumped up, cheering. “That was the greatest earthbending battle I’ve ever seen!” she heard one man yell to his wife. She yelled back “That was the greatest earthbending battle in all of history!” 

“Smile for the crowd, Toph,” Bumi said, having already bent himself out of Toph’s trap.

“But—” 

“I’ll explain later.”

She crossed her arms. “If Zuko were here, he’d tell me to travel the world searching for my _honor_.” 

Bumi laughed. “The Fire Nation has been obsessed with their honor since time immemorial. Pity, if Zuko could get those reparations through his _honorable_ council of advisors, Omashu might consider their honor restored. But I suppose that’s your problem now. Oh look, here comes Aang!” 

“Toph, you’re going to be queen!” Aang yelled, crushing her in a hug. “You know, as a world leader myself, I might just have to travel here more often. Oh, and I’m sure Katara will be around to discuss… you know, trade agreements or borders or something like that? Zuko and Sokka will probably have to come around too. Ooh, maybe we can have a council of nations, you know, all of us just sitting down, having fun and saving the world. Just like old times!” 

Toph sighed. Bumi said he would explain it all to her later, and she was holding him to that. 

__________________________________

“So, King Bygone, you let me win, huh?” 

Typically, this would be the beginning of their daily middle of the night training session, but seeing as Bumi had thoroughly humiliated her the day before, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to do that today.

Bumi sighed. “Toph, I promise you, you would have overwhelmed me on your own eventually. That combination of crystal, rock, mud, and ore would have thoroughly shackled any other earthbender.” 

“But not you.” 

Bumi ruffled her hair. “That fight wasn’t about beating me. It was about proving to the city that you could be queen, that you could protect them as well as I could. And you did that perfectly just with that lava octopus. You can protect this city, love this city, just as much as I do. I know that. The people just needed to know that as well.” 

Toph shuffled her feet. “But I don’t know that.” 

There had to be a difference, Toph thought, between ruling a city and winning a fight. Winning fights, she knew she could do. But diplomacy, speaking delicately, _manners_ —none of that was her. She’d left nobility behind to get away from that, and now here she was, heir apparent to the throne of Omashu?

“Yes, you do,” Bumi said. “How did you feel after I threw the fight?”

“Like I wanted to punch you,” Toph said immediately. Bumi laughed. 

“Okay, perhaps I deserve that. But did you punch me?” 

Toph shook her head.

“Why not?” 

Toph shrugged. “I don’t know, it would look bad? We had an audience, and there was a lot that could go wrong if I expressed how I really felt.” 

_Oh._

“And that’s why I threw the fight,” Bumi said. “Right now, that’s the biggest way I can insult you. But over the course of your reign, there will be numerous indignities that you will have to weather. You will have to choose your battles, and of the ones you pick you will have to be very careful of the time and place in which you fight them. In the middle of the night, during our training sessions, when the only servants who are awake stay far away from us, is an excellent choice.” 

Toph nodded slowly. “Neutral jing.” 

Bumi grinned. “Exactly.” 

Toph threw her arms around him. “You crazy old man.” 

“More like mad genius,” he said, hugging her back. 

___________________________________

“Don’t be nervous.” 

“Oh, thanks Zuko. If only someone had told me earlier not to be nervous. It’s such a great tactic for getting me to calm down.” 

Sokka laughed. “He really is the worst at comforting people,” he said, bouncing little Izumi in his lap. “It’s so funny to watch.” 

“Where’s Katara? You two are useless,” Toph snapped, practically coming out of her skin with anxiety. She was fiddling with some rocks, but the way she felt right now, she needed a boulder. No, she needed a _mountain._

“She and Aang are traveling with Bumi. If her letters are anything to go by, his toddlerhood is not going smoothly,” Sokka said. “I feel bad for her, honestly. Izumi never makes any trouble and we still don’t get any sleep at night.” 

“We should send her a fruit basket,” Zuko laughed. “She and Aang deserve it. Imagine being the Avatar, Chief of the Water Tribe, and Bumi’s parents. The stress would kill me.” 

“Guys, stop talking about your parenting troubles, I’m about to be crowned and I have no idea what I’m doing!” 

Izumi started laughing at her, and Toph groaned. 

“Your kid’s making fun of me.”

Zuko nudged her. “After all you’ve done to us, perhaps you deserve it.”

“I’m telling you, she’s well-behaved now, but just you wait, she’s going to grow up to be a little monster.” 

“Hi, sorry we’re late!” Katara said, breezing in with Bumi on her hip and Aang, Suki, and Hana at her side. “How are you feeling, Toph?” 

“Oh just great, just wonderful, never been better,” Toph snapped.

“Translation: she’s being a little brat,” Sokka said. Zuko snorted.

“Quit it, you two! Toph, you’re going to be such a great queen, I know it,” Katara said, rubbing her back. 

“Yeah, kiddo, you’re going to be awesome,” Hana said. “I’d go into battle for you.” 

“Me too,” Suki agreed. 

They were all being so nice. So supportive. And Toph… she loved them to bits, of course she did. But the one person she needed right now wasn’t around anymore. 

Just then, little Bumi started crying. 

“Oh no, what’s going on now?” Aang asked. “Bumi, Bumi, come on, don’t cry.”

An idea struck Toph. “Can I hold him?” 

Katara frowned. “Are you sure? You’re in your coronation robes and—no offense, Toph, but you’re not exactly the best with children.” 

“I’m _great_ with children. My students love me, the kids we’re housing adore me—”

“I think I just saw one of them walk into the throne room with no shoes, Toph.” 

“I don’t wear shoes! Pino is following my example. That kid is going to be a great earthbender someday.”

“I’m just saying, I don’t know if my parenting style lines up with yours.” 

“Okay, fine, then what’s your plan to get him to stop crying?” 

Katara considered it for a moment. “All right, fine.” She handed Bumi to Toph. 

As soon as Bumi was in Toph’s arms, he stopped crying. He grabbed at the rocks in Toph’s hands, and she gave them to him. 

“Oh Toph, no, he could swallow those!” 

But he didn’t. He started banging them together and laughing. And to her surprise, Toph laughed with him. 

She remembered something Aang told her, how his friend Monk Gyatso was friends with Roku, how Zuko reminded him so much of the friend he’d had in the Fire Nation, Kuzon. _Sometimes_ , he had told her, _a friendship is so strong that it lasts more than one lifetime._

She could feel Bumi staring at her, a mischievous grin on his little face. Just then, a servant came into the room.

“Mistress Toph, your people are waiting.”

Bumi reached out and squeezed her hand. She smiled. 

“Let’s do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh it's finished! Thank you to everybody that stuck with me through this. This is my first attempt at fic in about a decade, and I've been so happy at how it's been received. Will continue posting work in this fandom soon!
> 
> Edit: omg 100 kudos! I'm so happy and excited that people like this fic so much! thank you thank you thank you! you can really tell this fic wasn't betaed lol I'm going to go through and fix some grammar mistakes/add some description soon. if you like this fic I have a mailee one-shot and an ongoing fic about Sokka being the Avatar, check those out!

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr @nonbinary-crafter-aang! kudos and comments appreciated!


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